Receptacle indicator



W. S. COLLENS I RECEPTACLE I Jan. 10, 1939.

NDICATOR Filed May 1'7, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR WILL/AM 8. Calif/IS BYM ATTORN EY Jan. 10, 1939. w. s. COLLENS RECEPTACLE INDICATOR Filed May 17, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR WILLIAM S. CULLF/VS BYM/KF' ATTORN EY Patented Jan. 10, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

2,143,508 RECEPTAOLE INDICATOR William S. Collens, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application May 1'1, 1937, Serial No. 143,073

2 Claims My present invention relates to devices for preventing unauthorized refilling of receptacles, and more particularly it relates to a simple and effective indicator for instantly informing a consumer.

whether the contents of a receptacle is the expected and genuine product.

Many attempts have been made in the past to protect the consuming public, as well as the manufacturer, from bootleg products sold in receptacles of distinctive configuration or unique branding. It is a well known fact that there exists a ready market for receptacles, or containers, of established trade appeal, and which receptacles have been discarded by the consumer after use of the contents. For example, beverages both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, drugs, cosmetics, foods are but a few types of commodities put up in distinctivecontainers, and which containers, when discarded, are refilled 20 with bootleg material and put back on the market. It will be appreciated that any device employed on the container to prevent unauthorized refilling must be above all of such a nature that the device is removed with damage to the container and with an increase in operating cost to the unfair trader. L

Accordingly, it may be stated that it is one of the main objects of my invention to provide a container fabricated to include a light sensitive device as an integral part thereof; the device being capable of assuming a predetermined color when exposed to light thereby acting as a signal, or warning, to a consumer should the container be sold with a spurious product; and the warning device itself being removable only by damaging the container to an extent such that further use thereof is accompanied by an undesirable increase H in the cost of manufacture.

Especially in the case of bottles is it desirable.

to prevent fraudulent refilling. Prior attempts to check this bootleg evil have centered about indicating labels, or similar devices, applied externally to bottles. It may be stated that it is an important object of my invention to provide a bottle having embedded in a predetermined portion thereof, as the neck, body or bottom, a carrier member provided with a photosensitive substance capable of changing color upon exposure to light; the substance being shielded from light when the bottle is originally sold, and being exposed upon usage of the bottle contents by the consumer. j

Another object of the invention is to provide an indicator device for containers such as glass 55 bottles, metal cans. clay jars and jugs, wooden containers and the like; the indicator generally having a photosensitive substance associated therewith, which substance assumes a warning color upon exposure to light; and the indicator device being physically integrated with a container so as to shield the light responsive substance from unauthorized tampering.

Other objects are to improve generally the simplicity and eflectiveness of indicator devices for protecting a consumer from spurious products sold in containers of well known manufacturers,

and more especially to provide such indicator devices in containers in an eflicient and reliable manner, and without substantial increase in manufacturing costs; to the legitimate trader.

The novel features which I believe to be char acteristic of my invention are set forth in particularity in the appended claims; the invention itself, however, as to both its constructions and method of operation will best be'understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the drawings in which I have indicated diagrammatically several constructions whereby my invention may be carried into effect.-

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows the upper half of a bottle, partly in section, embodying the invention,

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a carrier member for the photosensitive substance,

Fig. 3 is a section taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows,

Fig. 4 is a bottom view of a bottle whose base embodies the invention,

Fig. 5 is a section of Fig. 4 taken along line 55, and looking in the direction of the arrows,

Fig. 6 is a view of the lower half of a bottle whose wall embodies the carrier member,

Fig. '7 is a partial sectional view taken on line 1-1 of Fig. 6 looking in the direction of the arrows,

Fig. 8 is a partial section of the wall of a clay container embodying the invention,

Fig. 9 is a front view of a metal can whose wall is provided with a modification of the invention, and

Fig. 10 is a section taken on line Ill-40 of Fig. 9 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters in the different figures-indicate similar elements, there is shown in Fig. 1 the upper half of a glass bottle, the neck of the latter embodying a device constructed as shown in Fig. 2. The neck of the bottle has been magnified to show the manner of embedding the indicator. When the bottle is fabricated the neck I thereof is provided with a bore having a rectangular cross-section. The bore receives the rectangular box, or cartridge, 2; the portion of the bore between the top of the cartridge and the face 3 of the neck being sealed with glass. The section 4, between dotted lines 5 and 6, represents the glass seal. Of course, actually the seal section 4 will not be distinguishable from the rest of the neck, but the representation employed will serve better to' show the manner of constructing a bottle of this type.

It will now be seen that the rectangular'bore in the neck I has a depth equal to the height of cartridge 2 plus that of the seal 4. The bore is preferably provided equidistantly from the outer and inner faces of the neck I. Any method may be employed to provide the bore in the neck. For example, during the casting of the bottle the mold can be provided with a special member to leave the rectangular bore in the neck. Those skilled in the art will be aware of other methods of providing the rectangular bore. The dimensions and shape of the bore will in all cases depend on the size of the neck and upon the construction and dimensions of the cartridge 2. Hence, it must be emphasized that the showing in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, as well as in the remaining figures, are purely illustrative in nature.

The cartridge 2, as shown in Fig. 2, is a rectangular box of opaque material. The inner face of base 8 is provided with a coating 9 of a photosensitive substance. The coating 9 may be of any desired shape and thickness; preferably it is a disc disposed at the center of the base 8. The strips l0 and II are secured across the open side of the cartridge thereby leaving a rectangular opening through which is viewed the disc 9. The latter may be composed of any material which changes color on exposure to light. By way of example, silver nitrate or silver chloride darken on exposure to white light; they may be used in the disc 9. Any composition of matter which has the property of changing color on exposure to white light, be it sunlight or artificial light, may be employed in disc 9. The light responsive material is compounded in a state such that it is readily coated, or deposited, on the base 9 in the desired shape.

The cartridge can be formed out of a single piece of metal sheet, as by stamping. There can be used tin sheet, thin lead sheet, or thin aluminum sheet for the cartridge form. The stamping will, of course, have a shape such that it can be readily worked into the form shown in Fig. 2; the adjoining edges may be soldered or welded. The disc 9 is coated on the inner face of base 8 in light that has no effect on the photosensitive material. For example, the disc 9 is coated on base 8 in red light, when the material used is silver nitrate or silver chloride. In such light these materials do not change. color. The cartridge 2 is inserted into the bore in the same light; it being understood that the open space between strips in and II faces outwardly so that disc 9 will be observed. a

The bore above the cartridge is then filled with molten glass to seal the cartridge in the neck. The seal 4 is made so as to leave a smooth upper face for the neck at the site of the bore. The bottle is filled, stoppered with stopper I2, and an opaque label I3 is provided about the periphery and top face of the neck. This label, or opaque guard, acts to prevent the disc 9 from being affected by light until the consumer is ready to expose the disc to check the authenticity of the bottle contents. The label l3 may be sealed to the neck sufaces, or it may be tightly wrapped around the neck. It will be understood that the order of the steps enumerated is not important; the opaque label I 3 may bewrapped around the neck before the bottle is filled.

The exposed face of label l3 bearsinstructions to the consumer to the effect that if the label is removed and it is noted that the disc 9 is white, then the bottle and contents are from the advertised manufacturer. dark (brown or black) it means that the protective label l3 has once before been removed. Since there will appear on the label l3 a warning that the disc 9 must be white, then the consumer will know, in the supposed last case, that the contents of the bottle is spurious. It is preferable to employ a photosensitive substance for disc 9 which turns to the warning color in a few minutes after the cover I3 is removed and the disc is exposed to white light. The fraudulent refiller will be discouraged from using a discarded bottle of this type for two reasons: first, the removal of the exposed cartridge necessitates prohibitive expense; second, complaints of a consumer detecting the fraud will result in criminal prosecution, in most jurisdictions, where the unfair trader risks using exposed bottles.

The invention is not limited to the neck of a bottle; in Figs. 4 and 5 there is shown the manner of embodying the photosensitive substance in the,base of the bottle. The base I4 is provided with a rectangular bore extending radially from a point in the periphery. The cartridge 2 need not be provided with the strips l0 and H in this case, since the disc 9 faces downward. The four side walls will be sufiicient to keep the light from the disc, when the guard I3 is in position around the base. The glass seal 4 is provided as previously explained. The opaque wrapper, or label, I3 is securely wrapped around the surfaces of the base to exclude light from disc 9 until the label is removed. This label will, also, bear instructions as to its removal, and the color of the disc 9. This form of the invention is readily applied to commercial usage.

When applying the invention to the wall l5 of the bottle, as in Figs. 6 and 7, a shallow, rectangular recess I6 is provided in the wall at any convenient point on its surface. The cartridge 2, in this case,'has its four walls extended at right angles thereto to provide the four lateral guard strips l8, l9'--ll, I'I'. i'l'ie cartridge occupies a portion of the recess, the glass seal 20 fills the remainder of the recess, as well as the interior of the cartridge. The opaque label 2| protects the disc 9 from the light. Since the label 2| is wide and extends beyond the edges of the cartridge, and'the lateral guard strips restrict the exposure zone of disc 9, it will be seen that effective measures have been taken to guard against premature exposure of the disc 9. I

In Fig. 8 is shown a construction, embodying the invention, applied to a ceramic container, as clay. Only a fragment is shown, as the same construction can be used at any point of the container. Assuming that numeral 22 denotes the wall of a clay pot, or jug, a recess 23 of the shape shown is provided in the wall. This recess is provided during the molding and baking operations; the recess has V-shaped sides so that the glass seal 24 is positively retained in position. The photosensitive disc 9 is coated on a carrier plate 25, the latter being placed on the bottom of the recess 23. The glass seal 24 not only positively locks the disc However, if the disc 9 is 2,148,508 Q 9 in the recess, but it permits the disc 3 to be exposed when the opaque guarding label 23 is torn away. The opaque label will, of course, extend well beyond the opening of the recess. A flatplate 25 can be used as a carrier for the disc 3, because the opaque body 22 will itself act as a guard againstaccidental exposure of disc 3. I

In Figs. 9 and 10 is shown another modification of the invention; the latter being now employed in connection with a metal can. The can 30 has a circular opening 3| cut, or stamped, in its wall.

A dish-shaped carrier 32 is secured to the interior While I have indicated and described several of the wall in spaced relation to the opening 3|. The peripheral portion 33 of the carrier is soldered or welded to the can so as to, in reality, provide the can wall with the equivalent of a shallow recess. The photosensitive substance 34 is provided on the exposed face 35 of the carrier. The glass disc 35' functions as the glass seal; the disc 35 is positively and rigidly secured in sealing position between the can wall and the peripheral portion 33 of carrier 32. An opaque guard strip, not shown, will be placed over the opening 3|. Such 'a strip can be a disc substantially overlapping the opening 3|, and bearing the desired instructions concerning the state of disc 33. In assembling substance to color-changing light, will have to be carried out in light not aflecting the substance. While the bore has been shown rectangular in the case of the bottle embodiments, it will be understood that the bore may be cylindrical, or otherwise, in shape. The cartridge may be of different shapes; it may be a tube with closed ends and a central opening for viewing the photosensitive disc.

Further, the cartridge need not be metallic; any opaque material may be used. For simplicity the carrier plate of Fig. 8 may be used in the form shown in Figs. 1 and 5. It is to be undestood that from a generic viewpoint, I have provided in a container a recess to receive a photosensitive substance deposited on an opaque carrier; a transparent substance being employed to seal the substance in the recess so asto renderremoval-of the substance diflicult; and an opaque element covering the sealed recess to prevent premature exposure of the photosensitive substance.

systems for carrying my invention into effect, it

will be aparent to one skilled in the art that my invention is by no means limited to the particular constructions shown and described. but that many modifications may be made without depart- 1. In a glass bottle, a portion thereof being provided with a recess, a cartridge disposed therein,

said cartridge including a photosensitive material positioned to be viewed from the exterior at said portion, a glass seal in said recess to prevent removal of the cartridge, and an opaque element secured to the external surface of said portion to prevent premature exposure of said material.

2. In a container of the type having a transparent body, said body being provided with a recess opening into the external face thereof, a carrier plate in said recess, said plate having a coating of a photosensitive substance facing said opening, a transparent material sealing said recess to prevent removal of the plate, and an opaque element covering the body face at said sealed recess to prevent exposure of the substance until the element is removed.

WILLIAM S. COLLENS. 

